John Joseph Cullen

John Joseph Cullen, 90, of rural Utica died Sunday, September 20, 2009. John was born May 11, 1919 in Marathon Iowa to John and Sarah (Gavin) Cullen. He graduated from Rembrandt , Iowa High School in 1937. He and Florence Staab were married on January 20, 1941 in Essex, Maryland. John served in the U.S. Army as a aircraft mechanic during WWII and was stationed in Japan as part of the occupation forces. Following the war he returned to Maryland where the couple's four oldest children were born. They moved their family to Claremont, MN to farm in 1954. Then to Utica in 1957 to continue farming. Florence died May 27, 2004. He was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and it's Knights of Columbus chapter. He also belonged to the Lewiston American Legion and Lewiston Cancer Support group. Survivors include his seven children; Rose M. Cullen of Utica, Edward (Mary) Cullen of Arlington Heights, IL, Patricia Cullen of St. Paul, Robert (Elizabeth) Cullen of Claremont, CA, Richard Cullen of Farminton Mn. , Catherine Cullen of New York, NY and Cynthia (Waseem) Malek of Bridgewater, NJ, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one sister, Dorothy Roseberry of Marion, OH. He was preceded in death by his wife, Florence and a grandson Michael. A Funeral Mass for John will be 10:30 AM Friday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Lewiston with the Reverend Marreddy Pothireddy officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may call from 5-8PM Thursday at Hoff Funeral Home in Lewiston. They may also call one hour before services on Friday at the church. There will be a Prayer Service at 7:30 PM Thursday at the funeral home. Please share a memory of John and view his Tribute Video when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com.
Tribute video can be found at: videos.lifetributes.com/90992